Rotary pump.



-PATBNTBD Nov. 5, 1907.

J. J. ODONNELL.

ROTARY PUMP.

PPLIUATION FILED JULY a1.

A from "15 11s* JPG" ' Jal/zaal' I' A lill/1111 lll/lll JAMEsJosEPH oDoNNELnIoF PADUGAH, KENTUCKY.'

ROTARY ruin.

Speizication vof Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1907.

Application filed .Tuly 31. 1906- vSoriavlNo. 328.594.

To all whom. 'il may concern.

'Bo it known that I, JAMES .loser-H ODoNNELr., a citizen ol' the United States, residing at Paducah, in the county of Mc("racken and State of Kentucky, 'have invented a new and useful Rotary Pump, of which the following is a specilication. v

lhis'invent'ion relates to motor driven centrifugal pumps designed for pumping out water yfrom barges, vessels, cellzns, excavations; and the like, and more pan tieni-arly to that type constituting the subjectunattcr of my pending application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 302,276, sled Feb. 2i, 1906. w

The invention has. for one of its objects to improve and simplify the construction and operationof the impeller wheel andassociated paits, so as to increase the efficiency ofthe pump. 'i

A further object of the invention is to arrange the driving shaft within the discharge pipe of the pump, or other suitable casing or sheath, so that the pump can be transported from place toplace without danger of the shaft being damaged.

A further advantage in arranging the driving shaft within the discharge pipe is that the water passing through-the latter maintains the shaft bearings cool.

A further object is the provision of an -automatic mechanism for starting and stopping the motor as the Water in the barge reaches a predetermined high or low levehso that at no time can the Water reach a dangerf ously high mark.

Another object of the invention is to provide a suit yable signal device whereby the officer-or attendant is made aware of the fact that the level of the Water has risen to the maximum pointY and the motor hasstarted into operation. The attendant, being thus warned, is enabled to. keep up a watch to ascertain ii the leaking of the boat"enceeds the capacity of the pump, whereupon a second pump may be brought into operation. 1f desired, a plurality of automatically started pumps may be employed, their arrangement being such that they will operate successively as the leakage exceeds the delivery of the pump or pumps then in operation.

With these objects in view, and others, as will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the 'invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement vof parts, which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

1n the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one of the embodiments of the invention, Figure 1 is a ce1/1- tral vertical section of the pump with portions thereof shown in elevation and an intermediate portion broken Y away. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line 2-2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a pump slightly modified in construction and provided with the automatic mechanism for starting and stopping the motor thereof. Fig. 4-is an enlarged detailview of the switch for controlling the motor.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughont by similar characters of reference.

Referring to the drawing, 1v designates the casing of the pump having an inlet opening at its lower end covered by a strainer 2, and an outlet opening 3 at its up? per end communicating with 'the discharge pipe 4. Within the casing 1 is arranged an impeller wheel comprising horizontal top and bottom heads 5 and 6 and radiallyextending vanos 7 rigidly connected at their ends to the heads. The lower head 6 is provided with a central inlet opening 8 around which is a cylindrical boss 9 which engages and coperates with the bearing plate 10 to form a step bearing. The boss 9 is shouldered and reduced so as to engage in the opening 11 of the plate 10, and the said plate is sepured to the casing by bolts 12. Arranged around the impeller wheel are stationary varies 13 extending with their lengths parallel to the vanes 7 of the wheel. These vanes 13 are spaced apart in a circle around the wheel and are shaped with their portions adjacent the Wheel in tangential relation to the latter, while the outerportions thereof curve in a general radial direction, their function being to reduce the rotary motion of the water im# parted to it by the wheel, so that the water will rise more readily in the chamber 14 around and above the vanes 13 and pass to the discharge pipe 4 with less internal friction. iThe vanes 13 may be formed integral with, or be ,btherwise secured to, the casing 1.

AThe upper ends vbf the vanes 13 are connected with a horizontally extendinghead 15, so that a cage-like structure is provided around the impeller wheel. The

head 15 is provided with a central bearing 16 for the driving shaft 17 to which the impeller wheel is rigidly secured, In a portable pump it is preferable to arrange the driving shaft Within the discharge pipe 4, so that the pump can be transported without the shaft being subject to injury. For this purpose, the discharge pipe is provided with suitable bearings, one being indicated at 18, for receiving the driving shafts. These bearings may be arranged to dispose the shaft in concentric or eccentric relation to the discharge pipe, as desired. At the upper end of the discharge pipe where the latter bends to form the spout 19, is arranged an electric motor 20 whose shaft alines with the driving shaft 17 and is directly Aconnected therewith. The motor 20, may beef any desired construction, and is adapted to be connected in circuit with a suitable source of electro motive force by lflexibleconnections, indicated at 21, so that the pump maybe moved from place to place. At the mouth of the spout 19,is provided a valve 22 which is arranged to be normally closed when the pump is idle and 'to beoponed by thc 4 discharge of water from the impeller wheel. Adjacent the valveI is a suitable signal device that is adapted to be sounded upon the opening of the valve, lso that the attendant will he informed when the pump begins to discharge. Any suitable audible signal may be pro- )fided for this purpose, such, for instance, as a gong 23 mounted on the spout, and a clapper 24 connected wit h lhe valve, so that as the latter opens it will strike [he gong. Such asigna] device is of most particular value in connection with au automatic means for starting-:lud sloppng the motor, such as will be described hereinafter in reference to Fig'. 3.

In operation, the motor rotates the iinpcl'ler wheel as soon as the 'circuit is closed. Water is thus drawn into the pump-by the impeller wheel through the strainer 2 and inlet opening 8 and from the center of the propeller wheel is discharged Iangentially in a horizontal plane by the vanos 7. The stationary vanes 13 receive the tangontially discharged water and arrest its tangential motion so that it will discharge upwardly through the chamber 14 and discharge pipe 4. ln passing up through the discharge pipe, the shaft bearings arc kept cool, so that a comparatively high rotative spoed may be employed.

In the modified form of pump shown in Fig. 3, the structural features are substantially the same as those already described,l except that the power shaft 17 is `arranged exterior to the discharge pipe 25 and is inclose'd in a sheath 26 secured to the pipe 25, thereby amply protecting the shaft from injury. In this construction, the discharge pipe. 25 is arranged with its axis slightly eccentric to the axis of the casing l, and, furthermore, the upper part ofw the discharge pipe is offset at 27 so as to support the motor 20 in proper operativc relation to the driving shaft 17.

The mechanism for automatically stopping and starti ing the motor, which may be used with either form of pump, comprises float 28, preferably in the orm oi a.

ring arranged around the discharge pipe so' as to be guided thereby, a vertically extending rod 29, and a switch 30 at the upper end thereof for opening and closing themotor circuit. I In Fig. 3, the switch is inclosed in a casing 31 arranged on or adjacent the motor base. As shown in Fig. 4, the tongue 32 of the switch is provided with an apertured arm 33 through the aperture 34 of which the rod 29 loosely extends. Bearing on opposite sides of the arm 32, and arranged around the rod 29, are helical compression springs 35. These springs are held under compression by nuts 36 forming abutments ior the ends oi' the springs opposite from the arm 33. By means of these springs, the blade 32 can be quickly connected or disconnected with respect to the spring contacts 37, so that sparking will be reduced to a minimum during the opening and closing of the switch. That is to say, as the float 28 moves upwardly by virtue of a rise in level of the water in which the lower end ofthe pump is submerged the lower spring 35 will be compressed gradually until such a point is reached that' the switch will. be snapped closed. The pump will thus be started into operation and the seep Water in the barge or vessel will be pumped out. As the float lowers,

the upper spring 35 will be compressed until a certain -point is reached, suficient to snap the switch open.

switch. The free end ofthe spring 38 is provided with a tooth 41 which'is adapted to engage in one or the other oi two .spaced notches 4.2 ou the member 40. When the tooth engages one notch, the switch is closed, and Wh en it engages the other notch, the switch is open. The tooth and notches are so shaped as to yieldingly hold the switch open or closed, so that the tooth will be automatically released from the notch that it engages when the compression of one or the other of the springs exceeds the gripping effect of the stop device. The leads of the electric circuit are designated by 43 and 44 by means of which current is supplied to the motor. 0n one of these leads may be provided, if desired, a suitable signal device, such as a bell 45 of the electromagnetically operated type, so as to be sounded as soon as the motor circuit is completed by the movement of the float, and thereby warn the attendant of the condition of the seep water in the barge or vessel. This alarm may be preferably arranged in shunt relation to the lead 44 and be provided with a hand operatedv switch 46, so as to be cut into or out of circuit, as desired.

With a pump equipped with the automaticcontrolling mechanism, the height oi' the seep water in a vessel or barge can be effectively kept within safe limits, since when the level of the water reaches a certain height, the pump will be automatically started and the water pumped out until a minimum low level is reached, whereupon the pump will cease operating. In the case of an empty barge, it is usually desirable to have a certain minimum amount of water retained therein, so as to prevent the heat ofthe sun from opening the cracks. It will be noted that thel float does notfall to the lowermost point of the pump, so that the motor will be stopped before the barge is pumped completely dry. Inorder, however, to pump the barge dry, so as to permit the same to be loaded with merchandise, provision is necessary for operating the motor independently of the float controlled starting and stopping mechanism. For this purpose, a circuit 47 shunting the switch 30 is provided, the same having a. manually controlledswitch 48 where by the shunt can be opened and closed. Thus, when it is desired to completely pump out the seep water, the switch 48 is closed, so that the motor will operate independently of the automatically operated switch 30.

ln some cases it will be desirable to employ several automatically actuated pumps, so that when the leak# .age should exceed the'capacity of one pump, another, or more, pumps would be automatically called into service and thereby possibly preventing a ship from filling up and sinking. With such an arrangement. it would be preferable tohave the floats oi the several pumps so arranged that the pumps would be calledv 870,310'A A. L 3

into action one after another a the le/el of'the water n temmony kthat I mm the @m5011153 a my 0WD' I 10 l have hereto aflxed my signature in the presence ot two would ri.se' I l Witnesses.

What 1s clanned 1s l z y r The combination of a pump, an electric motor for drivv JAMES JOSEPH ODONNEI I ing the sumo, un automatically'actuafed mechanism'for opening and closing the circuitvof the motor; a signal device connected in circuit with the motor, und a manually controlled devicefor controlling the' motor independently ol' the Suid mechanism.

Witnesses z CHAs. K. WHEELER,`

D. il. HUGHES. 

